


Bitter Dreams

by IdaDesu



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Angst, Depression, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I can only feel pain, No Happy Ending Fest, Sad Ending, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 19:52:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15758544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdaDesu/pseuds/IdaDesu
Summary: The Professor is in Monte d'Or and can't stop thinking about his dead friend.





	Bitter Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea where this came from and I've been writing this instead of sleeping because I have terribly unhealthy habits, so I'm just hoping that it makes some kind of sense because every time I write somthing it's just me rambling.
> 
> Also sorry I only write sad stuff.

The professor opens his eyes, unable to notice anything but darkness, it doesn't seem to alarm him, what does, however, is what he sees once he becomes used to the lighting, or lack of it thereof. He can see the place thanks to the ever-so-dim light, coming from an unknown location. Not only does he notice the walls and the cracks in them, but also the two people walking between them. He knows what is bound to happen, very few minutes and steps from that exact moment, one of them will be gone, forever. He is absolutely certain that there is nothing to be done about that, there is no way of changing his friend's fate.

The archaeologist feels he isn't as upset as he should be, although, the frequency with which he relives this situation justifies the numbness he is now starting to feel. His friend is already gone, has been for more than a decade, and even after all those years, the ghost of their past can't seem to stop haunting the man. he doesn't want to see the fall, but no matter how much he looks away or how forcefully he shuts his eyelids, the dream insists on showing him the exact moment the ginger boy's hand slips from his own.

It has been hard staying in Monte d'Or, being so close; not just physically, but mentally, to those events that marked his youth and whole life. Reuniting with the people from back then has proven to be mentally exhausting, still, not as heavy as the "miracles". Even with his extraordinary puzzle-solving abilities, he is unable of keeping a clear mind when it comes to this particular city. It is so near to the literal setting of his nightmares that he cannot help but be deeply disturbed, every single day he confronts his childhood friends and feels the void left by him. Every time he notices the absence of the boy he grew up with, the boy who taught him everything he knows, he considers himself guilty of his fall. The fall that ended his friend and started everything else, his studies, his passions, everything created to replace the one thing he wanted and needed the most.

The moment his hand slipped, he knew he should have appreciated him more; his energy had filled all their days and everyone had missed it since. The passion and happiness he brought to every single person no matter where he went. He knew that would be the thing he would miss the most when he saw the boy fall in front of his own two eyes. The worst about it is that he was absolutely right. Even after all the years that passed, he still feels the pain the same way he used to, and no matter how hard he tries to swallow the bitter truth of his friend's death, he is unable to do so. And so, he wakes every day, trying to forget and by nighttime, when it's no longer fresh in his mind, he dreams again, just to repeat the process tomorrow morning.

He wakes up again, after days of the same tedious tasks, after forgetting and remembering millions of things every night. The day starts as normal as could be with the Masked Gentleman still on the loose and chaos still going on inside his mind, but of course, it does not end that way. When night comes, all is revealed and Randall reunites with his friends again. Once all is explained, there is no more need for words, they are happy now, back together, like he never left.

There was no way for it to have a better ending, but somehow, the professor was still stuck in a permanent feeling of loss and sorrow. He had left after the fall and hadn't come back in such a long time, he had no excuses for himself. He had refused to keep in touch, and he resented himself for it. He doesn't feel he's part of the group and so he leaves while the rest insist on making up for lost time.

He can't help it, he wasn't there for Henry or Angela and that, in his mind, makes him almost as bad as Descole.

When he falls asleep, instead of the usual nightmare, it's loneliness that greets him, an absolute darkness that wraps around his body and tries to swallow him whole. That is when the realization hits him; the part of him that died with Randall's fall will never come back because unlike him, it really did die that night.


End file.
